After a fair ‘warm-up’ the previous days, we managed to put ourselves together and continue the tour according to the plan.

From Camp 2 on Horseid, the next destination was a small ferry terminal in Kjerkfjorden that allowed the transport to Bunes beach. This was supposed to be a ‘rest day’ to sooth the soreness from previous afternoon stroll. It looked promising: short hike to the boat and then even shorter from boat to Camp 3. However, the long day and beautiful weather won again with common sense and we decided on another little excursion – this time for better digestion after dinner. The views were much worth the effort. And besides – who knows if we will ever come back to this place?

Day 3 woke us up with beautiful sun… and 2 jet planes passing just above our heads: entering the beach from the sea and crossing over the col we were going to pass through.

We started slow, as the ferry goes only few times a day, and we decided upfront that we won’t make it for 11am. The next one was at 3pm, which gave us plenty of time to refresh in ice cold river crossing the beach, pack and slowly walk towards the ‘port’ (see timetable here: http://www.reinefjorden.no/rutetabell.htm). After few stops for coffee and sunbathing, we caught our ferry ride to Vindstad.

The path from Horseid to Bunes beach is not marked through the mountains and the main route goes through the sea. Some people manage to pass, but the peaks are very sharp and fissile, so you need to be prepared for a challenging climb.

Bunes beach is probably the easiest to reach from Reine and the main road and we could feel it by the number of people and tents (it’s only about 1h walk from the ferry terminal). It was not very easy to find a good strategic spot for our Camp 3. We chose the hill over the beach, just to avoid unnecessary climbing with our full backpacks, especially that we were determined to catch an early ferry the next day.

Instead, we dropped the excess of load in the tents and went down just with our cameras to touch the sea.

On the way to Helvetestinden. View towards Vindstad and Reine.

View from Helvetestinden.

View towards Kjerkefjorden. On top of the mountain col.

Trip from Kjerkfjorden to Vindstad – about 30min of ‘different perspective’

Bunes beach.

The dinner definitely didn’t feel as well deserved as the day before, but we spent a beautiful day with amazing views and were pretty content with it.

The thing is, we ALWAYS want more. Especially when it’s sunny! So there was this peak right above our camp – Helvetestinden (602m). You can guess our idea for a ‘post-dinner walk for a better sleep’ 🙂

The hike takes about 1.5-2h both ways. It is moderately challenging walk, starting with quite steep climb over the scree. The last piece before the top may be the most difficult as it is exposed and requires walking along a narrow ridge.

The views on the way and from the top of the mountain compensate every effort taken to reach it. Turquoise sea and surrounding peaks highlighted by the ever-setting sun will stay in my memory for a long time.

The weather in Norway can be very moody and I guess we were lucky to have it so generous during these few days. This was about to change as in the morning we saw the darker clouds piling over the horizon. It was time to start thinking about ‘plan B’.